Boats and Love Abroad
by swimmer738
Summary: Farid and Meggie are on a moonlit walk when they meet Dustfinger read on if confused with a message leading them on an adventure! It's my first story, so be as critical as u want in the reviews!
1. Chapter 1

That dog. The unbearable Cheeseface. Farid wanted Dustfinger back more than ever, but Orpheus was taking his sweet old time to find the "right words", and enjoying every second of watching Farid do all his chores for him. Mo had threatened him, and Meggie had tried to read something, but nothing worked.

So, instead, everyone just tried to bear him, the Cheeseface.

One night, when the stars were shining bright, and the moon looked twice as large, Meggie woke up inside the cave and found a note next to her. It read:

Meggie,

Meet me outside tonight at the edge of the cliff, li want to spend some time together. I'll be waiting.

She dropped the note, and started walking toward the cliff. There, was Farid, and Cheeseface had just walked away back to the cave.

She went over to Farid and asked,

"What was Cheeseface doing here, Farid?"

"Dropping off his clothes for me to wash. I don't think he expects me to rest when he's in need of something," he replied.

"Farid, tell me, do u think that I could find these "right words" to bring Dustfinger back?" Said Meggie, changing the subject, and seeing if Farid would give in. "You're the only one stopping me."

"Don't try Meggie, it'll just give old Cheeseface a temper. Besides we can't mess this up, you might bring Dustfinger back with one arm missing or something." Farid replied, showing his mind was concentrating on something else.

"You really miss him, don't you?" Meggie asked.

Farid couldn't answer. He just wanted all the waiting and loneliness to end. Without Dustfinger, it was like he was the one missing an arm. He looked into Meggie's eyes, and instantly all his worries were gone. He wanted to hold Meggie and never let her go, because that's was the way things were supposed to be.

"You remember the day when I saved Dustfinger from Basta at the windmill?" Farid asked, the wonderful feeling of that day returning to him.

"Yes, I remember Farid," she replied, sitting down with him at the edge of the cliff. She leaned her head on his chest, looking up into his eyes, with their long curled eyelashes. Meggie felt the same Farid did.

"Well I'm remembering when I said we have to break that news to your father," he said happily.

"What news was that?" Meggie asked confused.

"Oh, you don't remember do you? You don't remember that we have to tell your father you belong to me? You see, once Dustfinger is back, we'll all say good-bye to your father, and leave to spend the rest of our lives together," Farid said chuckling.

"Oh yes, that. It's too bad your heart is set to finding Dustfinger, then we'd be really alone," she said teasing him, moving in a little closer to him.

"Are you teasing me Meggie? I'm offended!" he said sarcastically, playing along.

"I don't know, maybe I am teasing you." she said laughing cheerfully. They had not been this happy in a long time.

"Then what do you say to this," Farid said, leaning into Meggie and kissing her.

He broke apart, leaving Meggie overwhelmed. So, she returned the kiss, putting her arms around his neck, and holding him tight. They kept kissing, feeling they didn't have the power to stop. But then-

Of course, someone interrupted them, the wrong someones if you ask me. Mo and Resa walked up to them, each sitting down on either side of them.

"OK, break it up you two, a father doesn't get used to seeing his daughter kissing that easily," Mo said joking.

"Oh Mo, leave them be," Resa said, "I thought we were the only ones that thought a moonlit walk was romantic," she added teasingly.

"Well, it was 'till you came," Farid said disappointed.

"Farid," Meggie said, "My parents did interrupt, but maybe if we keep cool and shut-up, the lion and lioness wont attack," she said, sitting as still to add to the joke.

"Well these lions have to keep their beautiful baby cub from being swept off her feet by a boy," Mo said. He didn't look like he was joking this time. So, Farid tried:

"Well, the girls in this world get married at her age, so be prepared I might propose some time soon." He was keeping a straight face, and Meggie was surprised. But then, as if on cue, all of them started laughing, though they all knew it would happen sometime, and all were ready for it.

"But just imagine Resa," Meggie said dreamily, "what a wedding would be like here," and Resa and Meggie both sighed as if in a dream.

The boys just stuck out their tongues and said, "ew"

"Just like men," Resa said, and Meggie laughed with her.

"Yes, our men-like qualities are the part of the natural circle of life," Mo said sarcastically, jutting his chin out as if he were very proud.

They all laughed and looked out the beautiful sea, with the moon's reflection shining on it, making their faces glow.

"Dad, when are we leaving this dump? Can't we find a boat, and sail out to sea to explore? I'm sure Farid could make great performances on the water with his fire!" Meggie said, holding Farid's hand lovingly.

"We have dreamed of that, your mom and I, every time we come out here," replied Mo, "and it does sound like a good idea, doesen't it?" he added looking around the group.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?" Farid agreed.

"Why don't we tell everyone else down at the cave? I'm sure the Black Prince will agree. And besides, everyone will listen to the legendary Bluejay," Resa said.

"Yes, they better, or I might have to take out my sword," Mo replied sarcastically.

"Well then it's settled, were going to build a boat, and go out to sea!" Farid said excitedly.

"It's not as simple as that Farid, remember, we have enemies," Meggie said disappointed.

"Oh, right, I forgot how cruel all worlds can be," said Farid.

"Chin up though children, we'll find a way to make our dream come true," Resa said encouragingly.

Then there was some silence. The group was thinking of a way to make everything possible. But how? They didn't have all the high-tech things they had in their own world. But...

"There's always words and my voice," Meggie said with a new hope.

"Who's to write them? Fenoglio barely speaks, and he said he wouldn't ever write a magical word again. And Cheeseface is just... Cheeseface." Farid said.

"That's true, but we can try or find another way," Meggie replied.

"Until then, I think it's time we got some rest," Mo said, and he and Resa started walking back to the cave.

"We're staying here dad," Meggie said, laying down with Farid. They were quite comfortable, even though the ground was hard.

After a little convincing from Resa, Mo left, just warning them to sleep away from the edge of the cliff.

It was now morning and the two lovebirds were soaked with the morning dew. She woke up, lifting her head off Farid's chest. The dew made her feet cold, since she had left the cave barefoot last night. Farid woke a little after her and said,

"Morning Meggie. Great night, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," she replied.

"Why don't we go see if they've cooked breakfast yet," he said getting up.

"I'm in, I'm starved," she said getting up.

Then, Meggie slipped on the morning dew and fell on the ground, rolling and rolling uncontrolably. It all happened so quick, the next thing she knew, she was hanging onto the edge of the cliff, her life depending on it.

"Farid, help me!" she squeaked. Her heart was beating so hard and loud she didn't think she needed to scream since Farid probably heard her heartbeat already.

"Meggie, where are you? Stop playing games and let's go eat!" he replied, not knowing how serious the situation is.

"Farid, I'm not joking," Meggie said on the verge of tears, "help me, I'm at the edge of the cliff!"

Thankfully, Farid gave in and came over. When he carefully looked over the edge of the cliff, his heart started beating as loud as Meggie's.

"Oh no! Meggie, I'll try all I can to help!" Farid said, and he kneeled down and started to pul on her arm. It was no use though, since his arms were a little sore from last night's camp-out.

"Meggie, don't let go of my hand!" he muttered under his breath.

Then, the worst possible thing happened. The piece of rock that Farid was kneeling on broke, and they both fell. It wasn't much use, but Meggie scrambled onto the tiny piece of rock, and hugged Farid.

And then, nothing. They had been suspecting the world to go black but instead... they were floating in midair. Then, suddenly, a great mass of fire popped up in front of them. Farid was overwhelmed, and was thinking there was only one person who could control this...

Suddenly, a shape was slowly appearing inside the mass of fire. It eventually turned into... Dustfinger's face! In a loud voice (more like a roar) he said,

"Ah! Farid, my boy! Oh, and Meggie too! Just the people I needed to see!"

"Dustfinger? Is it really you?" Farid asked, his eyes swelling in joy and amazement.

"Yes, Farid. But I don't have much time, so I have to get on with the subject which I have to tell you. The White Women only granted me a few moments."

"Farid, I know how much you would want me back, and if Roxanne is near by tell her I send her my love, and send her this message. Firstly, get everyone you can to help you. To get me out of the land of the White Women, you have a big task ahead of you. You need to sail all the way to the end of this world of words, until your boat can sail no longer."

"Our dream, Farid!" Meggie said happily ready for action.

"No interruptions Meggie! Once you have reached this point, Farid is to form fire over water, until it amazingly reaches the height of the sun. The White Women will be overwhelmed, and let me go," Dustfinger said pleased.

"But wouldn't that mean they would want to take me too?" Farid asked frightened. Meggie then hugged him tightly as him the White Women were behind them.

"No, they won't. You have already died, (strangely enough) so out of the little mercy they have they will let you be. One warning though, Farid. On your way to the end of the world, the farther you go on, the more white women there are. Make sure everyone going on the trip is in perfect health, or risk losing your crew. My time is up, I'll see you sooner or later..." And Dustfinger vanished, along with the mass of fire.

They found themselves on the top of the cliff again, breathless with amazement and excitement. Then Farid said,

"So, shouldn't we go and tell everyone back at the cave?"

"Yes, I guess we should, but who are we to bring? Almost everyone back at the cave is ill or injured!" Meggie replied.

"Well then we have a lot to do, don't we?" he said.

"The first thing on my mind to get through is breakfast!" Meggie hadn't noticed her hunger with all the drama.

"I agree." Farid replied with his stomach growling.

So they walked back to camp, amazed at the wondrous night their moonlit walk had caused.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When they got back to Roxane's cottage, they were immediately fed and forced to tell the story. Meggie decided to tell the story, since Farid wouldn't stop stuffing his mouth with food when asked a question. After it was told, Mo was pale and said,

"Oh, not again. Again I have to go on another adventure for Dustfinger! This is too much! And Meggie almost fell of a cliff to receive the message!"

"Calm yourself, Mo. You don't have to go. Whoever is willing to go on this trip, they will go. Any volunteers need to come to me for a complete check-up!" Roxane announced.

The first people in line were of course the Black Prince and half of his crew. Then Mo went, and that left Resa, Meggie, and Farid to talk.

"Resa, do you have any idea how were going to build a boat? Not many people here are artisans," Farid said, stating the obvious.

"I agree with you Farid, but have you forgotten we have a man who is excellent with words, and a girl with a magical voice?" Resa said happily. Then Farid replied,

"But old Cheeseface won't write anything unless there's something in it for him."

"We have my dad the Bluejay to threaten him, that can always be the back-up plan!" Meggie said with a mischievous look in her eye.

"Let's leave violence out of this, this world has enough cruelty in it already," Resa replied sternly.

There was some silence, and no one could think of any other ideas, and the threatening was beginning to sound good. Interrupting their thoughts, there was a lot of noise, like someone snapping a lot of twigs. Then out of the cottage, Roxane called,

"Everyone, come quickly to the edge of the cliff! It's amazing, they don't do that for anyone!"

Curiously, everyone ran to the cliff, taking care not to go too near the edge. Then, as far as they dared, they looked over the cliff, and then to their left.

It was an amazing site. Almost all the trees nearby were tearing their roots out, and carefully piling themselves at the bottom of the cliff on the sand. Each tree seemed to be doing it on cue, and their fall off the cliff was so graceful you would have thought they were ballerinas dancing on air.

Then, with one loud crack, the tree ripped apart into thick trips of wood, and were placed into a boat-like shape with one mast!

Ooos and ahhs came from the crowd, along with some cheering. But the best wasn't over yet...

Someway or another the grass that had been underneath the trees were now ripping themselves up too! And just like the trees, were placing themselves beside themselves until they formed one huge sail, that no one would have recognized as being made from grass. Everyone was so happy Resa called out,

"WE SAIL AT DAWN!" She did it in an exact pirate voice, so that everyone returned to the cottage as happy as can be.

That night, everyone decided to go into town for their last day on land. Who or what had made their boat they didn't know, but they needed food and water and such. Smartly, the girls thought the idea of spreading apart from the boys, since nine out of ten of them decided to spend their night in the nearby bar.

Once they had the men out of the way, it was time for their girls night out. Their first stop was to buy cloth and sewing material for the trip, along with ready-made clothes. They brought a lot of food of sellers on the streets, and were all set.

Let the fun begin...

All of the girls had plans of their own, so they eventually they all split up, so naturally, Meggie soon found herself alone. So, courageously, she decided to sneak into the library inside the castle.

After watching Farid walk on his feet lightly so many times, she had gotten good at it herself. She passed all the guards without breaking a sweat, and entered the castle unnoticed. It had been a while back, but Meggie remembered how to get to the beautiful library easily.

Books, the best thing in the world in Meggie's opinion. She had reached heaven. She quickly found a good book, and sat down quietly on a couch.

A little way into the story, she started to hear voices coming from the other side of the shelf. Curiosity immediately drew her attention to the voices:

"Are you ready to keep track on the enemies?" That voice sounded female, and like a queen's royal voice.

"Of course. The trees have made their boat, and ours as well. The boat is fully stocked and ready to set sail. We heard a cry at the bottom of the ship, and they will set said at dawn," probably her lady-in-waiting.

"What about the bait?" said the first voice.

"The bait... oh yes, the bait, um... I forgot about that one miss..." the second one stuttered. Then there was a loud snap, and Meggie assumed the first voice had slapped the other across the face.

"Are you forgetting you are in dept to me? Hurry and get the bait, you lazy scoundrel!"

"Yes ma'm.," and it scurried away quickly. Meggie heard a few more shuffles, and an unmistakable person spoke,

"Now, about my deal..."

"We shall speak of your part of the deal later, Basta," Meggie ran for all her life as soon as she had finished her sentence.

Luckily for Meggie no one chased her, and she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran straight for the bar.

"Farid!" she called out desperately, and he came quickly, pulling her out of the bar. Once they were outside, he said,

"What happened? Your redder than Basta was after the fire in the windmill,"

"Come quickly, that's just we have to talk about!" and Meggie ran out of the city gates, and unexpectedly, back to the cliff where they were last night.

"Meggie, your starting to frighten me, what happened?" Farid asked, his face full of worry.

"Basta!" Meggie spit out, and that was enough for Farid.

"Basta! Here's here in the city? You saw him? Did he hurt you?" A million questions poured out of Farid's mouth.

"I met Basta along with some other woman-" Meggie started.

"Mortola?"

"No, some other woman, I don't know who. Anyhow, they did something that made our boat, and they're planning to trail us when we go out to sea," Meggie finished.

"Oh no, I knew dreams didn't come true that easily!" Farid exclaimed. He was so amazed at the news his eyes were practically popping out of his head.

"Farid, calm down, we'll—"

"I don't think you'll get that far princess!" Minty fresh breath+knife against throat Basta!

"Let go of her you crazy lunatic!" Farid tried, attacking Basta.

Farid had an unbelievable amount of strength, which took Basta by surprise. He was pounding him and kicking him with every last inch of strength he had.

Through Meggie's head were thoughts of triumph, but then, it was always a villain taking the girl and the boy fighting for his girl back. She couldn't believe she was thinking this in the hands of Basta, but she wanted that to change...

"Uh!" A streak of anger had flown through Meggie and, WHAM! The next thing she knew, Basta had a black eye, and his knife was in her hand.

"Let us be Basta! Go back to your lady and forget about trailing us! I'm not going to be your little damsel in distress! Get!" She roared, and was about to throw the knife at him when,

He grabbed Farid instead! This fairy tale had completely turned around, but Meggie wouldn't even bare this. So she started to act,

"Oh no, please don't hurt Farid, I-I-I'll drop the knife, just get away from Farid!" She said in the most desolate voice she could manage.

"That's better girl! Now drop my nice and I'm **_might_** reconsider taking you to my new— ARRG! AHHHH!" Before Basta had finished his sentence, Meggie had pounced, and stuck the knife straight in his eye.

"Come on Farid! Don't marvel my work, run!" Grabbing Farid by the arm, they both ran away as fast as they could back to the city, thankfully bumping into Resa.

"Oh my god, where have you been! Your as red in the face as Farid's fire!"

"Basta... eye... attacked..." They both tried to say in-between gasps for air.

"Oh, sorry, breathe and then we could talk."

After calming down, they both told them everything in turn, starting from Meggie's visit in the library. When they had finished, Resa was as pale as the White Women.

"I can't believe this. What are we to do? How are we to go on the trip now?" Resa managed to say.

"The first thing to do is to find the rest of our– probably drunk– crew. Then we could all decide together, but we are definitely going to save Dustfinger!" Farid said hopefully.

"Your right Farid!" Meggie exclaimed, and started walking to the bar after Farid.

"Mo better not be drunk," Resa muttered under her breath as she followed the kids.

Thank the lord, none of the men had drunken much, and the rest of the women were there too. For the third time, Farid, Meggie, and Resa explained the situation. And once again, everyone was pale.

Finally Mo spoke up,

"Firstly, I don't think Basta will get back to the castle any time soon, he's probably nursing his eye. Second, We should still start our trip at dawn, but not to the end of this world yet. We should find refuge on a near by island for a while," This sounded smart, but then Farid asked,

"Which island is that?"

"I don't know yet! Roxane, take it away," he replied, pushing Roxane to the center of their little huddle.

"There is an island pretty far away from here. It's called Silver Secret, and I know some people on the island since I have brought some plants for healing from that island before. The only problem is that I forgot how to get there, but I remember that the island is underwater!"

"So it looks like were going to be trying to find the sunken city of Atlantis!" Meggie said sarcastically.

"Oh, wait a second, I'm remembering now (thank god!)! The unfortunate part is we won't be traveling by boat, but by land. We're going to have to hope the people on the island of Silver Secret will lend us a boat big enough for everyone to fit in. We have to travel to somewhat the beginning of the Wayless Woods, and find a pond with a water nymph in it. Then, immediately when we jump in, we'll land on Silver Secret."

"That sounds like a wonderful hike!" Meggie said excitedly.

"But, that also means that were going to have to leave the crew here and just bring myself, Meggie, Mo, Resa, and Roxane," Farid put in.

"I think Farid's right," Resa said.

"Well then it's settled!" Mo said.

"My crew and I can take care of your cottage until you all get back, Roxane," the Black Prince volunteered.

They broke the huddle, and started off to the cottage.

Once at the cottage, everyone forgot dinner and went straight to bed with the adventure on their mind. Roxane got sandwiches prepared along with a lot more food and clothing for them with the help of Resa. Afterwards, the lights were turned off, and everyone started snoring.

"Did you get the girl?" said the lady back at the castle.

"No, but I was blinded, and I don't think they're changing their minds about going," Basta replied.

"Then we sail at dawn!" She cried.

She dismissed Basta and went into the study in the library locking the door. Her study was more like a witch's potion room, with a big cauldron in the middle, and other exotic ingredients on shelves all around. There were things like werewolf's hair, and a frog's toe. She got busy preparing something, and when she was done, she put the thick black liquid in a bottle, hiding it inside her dress. Then she took another big bottle, about the size of a blender, and drank a thick, gooey, brown liquid from it. This lady was set for the chase!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (besides the mistress, she's mine).

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3 Things to Consider

It was getting near dawn, though everyone going on the trip were already up and anxious to get moving. There was nothing stopping them, but they just felt like there was something holding them back.

"Shouldn't we start our hike? There's no use just standing here," Meggie said breaking the silence.

"Yes, I guess we should," Roxane said, and started walking.

One by one everyone started off behind her. There was Roxane leading the way, Farid and Meggie after that, then Mo and Resa behind them. It was going to be a long— mainly quiet— trip.

At the castle, the mysterious mistress was supervising the loading of her ship, with the one-eyed Basta beside her. There boat was an old sloop— a small fast boat— and the only people riding it were herself, Basta, the navigator, and the mistress's lady-in-waiting.

"Let us board the ship and be off," said the mistress in her royal-like voice.

"After you, mistress," Basta said as politely as he could. He was impatient to have his revenge on Meggie for stabbing him in the eye.

They boarded the ship, getting comfortable on deck. The lady-in-waiting immediately attended to her mistress, giving her cushions to sit on and her morning tea. After a quick sip of tea, she announced in an unexpectedly loud voice,

"Set sail!"

Once they were at a steady pace, she called Basta over.

"First I need to pick up some potion items at Silver Secret, so go off and tell the navigator,"

"Of course," and of course the lazy ass told the lady-in-waiting, making her send the message on.

Bad luck was in store for Meggie's group.

Going back to the other crew, they had made a fair amount of way across the Wayless Woods. They were doing so well, they were able to stop and get a bite to eat in the Inn of the Strolling Players. They were greated with a friendly smile from every face.

After a bite to eat and a drink, everyone split up, most finding an empty couch to sleep on. Instead of sleeping, Meggie decided to go outside.

She was outside, when someone snatched her. Fortunately, it was only Farid,

"Come with me, no one's around!" Farid said.

He led her into a the center of a circle of trees. It was quiet, and they got comfortable easily with their backs against the trunk of a tree. Then Meggie said,

"What do you think will happen on Silver Secret?"

"I don't know, maybe it's a secret," Farid replied sarcastically.

"Very funny Farid," she said laughing. Then her face turned grave and she said,

"But what about Basta and his mistress? What if we run in to them?"

"If we run into them, we'll think of something then. I think what we should worry about now is trying to relax and forget all those worries of ours," he said smiling.

"I guess your right," Meggie replied, smiling and leaning her head on Farid's shoulder. Then, for her delight, she lifted her head and gave Farid a kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"What do you mean what was that for? Did you forget I'm your girl?" she replied, and kissed him again.

This time Farid didn't pull away, and returned the kiss happily. It felt as if they're mouths were glued together again, and they kept at it with pleasure.

Oddly enough though, they felt a little noise coming from above them, like a breeze passing through the branches of the tress... but there was no wind. Eventually they figured the trees had been... laughing. To add to that, the tree behind them started talking:

"Wow, we haven't had a couple here in a long time!" Its voice sounded like the wind going through your ears when it is strong.

"You talk!" Meggie said amazed.

"Of course, we've learned how to since we've been around so long!" said another tree in the circle.

"How long?" Farid asked.

"Were all around three hundred fifty years old, which is only halfway through our lifetime," the tree next to them replied.

"Farid, they could tell us about Silver Secret," Meggie whispered to Farid.

"You start the questions," he whispered back, giving Meggie a little dab on the cheek.

"Well, can you trees tell us about the island Silver Secret?" Meggie asked.

"Of course. The wind has told us about that island many times before. Just so happens that the island has very kind people, and they help you in any way they can!" another tree said. Meggie sighed and went on,

"Has there been any wind passing by here recently? And has it mentioned anything about the island?"

"Oh yes, just the other day actually," the tree behind them said, "It said they were aware of someone's coming, two parties actually!"

That wasn't good. Both Farid and Meggie had drawn the conclusion that they were one party, and Basta and his mistress were they other. Meggie couldn't utter another word, so Farid asked this,

"If we went there, do you think the people of Silver Secret can hind us well away from the other party of people?"

"Yes, of course. So long as you do something for them in return. I'm sure that your hiding from another threatening group, and that group would be too violent to come to its senses and do something nice for Silver Secret."

"But what if they did, would they give away our hiding spot?" Farid asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid so child, so I think you'll have to take that slight risk," the trees responded sadly.

Farid and Meggie put their heads together and discussed the situation in whispers.

"I think we should take the chance," Farid said first.

"I think so too," Meggie replied bravely, "Besides, I don't think Farid and his mistress will ever do something kind!"

"Yes that's true," Farid agreed.

"But what about Mo and the others? How are we to tell them about this?" Meggie asked shyly.

"What do you mean?" Farid asked.

"Well, probably just Mo. He'll want to know how we came to talk to trees and what we were _doing _before that,"

"We'll think of something," Farid said smiling.

They spoke up to the trees, assuring the location of Silver Secret (turns out Roxane remembered correctly) and bade them good-bye. Then they made their way back to the Inn of the Strolling Players, rounding everyone up and telling them the new situation they had to handle.

Luckily they took it well and decided to just keep doing what they were doing, and Mo asked no questions about Meggie and Farid.

Since they had nothing else to do, they decided to get back on the road. This time they walked with less talking, and serious looks on their faces.

It was sunset when they reached the pool of the water nymph. They took a quick break, also letting Farid get a stock of fire honeycombs from the fire elf.

He went over to the little pool, calling the water nymphs out of the pool in a soft whisper, just like Dustfinger had taught him so long ago. He enjoyed the slimy touch of their skin, and happily went over to a nearby nest of fire elves.

He started humming— another thing Dustfinger had taught him to do— and grabbed three honeycombs, thinking, _I don't think three of them is being greedy..._ for he also remembered no to be too greedy when taking fire honeycombs.

Once he had finished his errand, everyone crowded around the pool. Then Roxane whispered around the instructions to get to Silver Secret. It was actually quite simple. All they needed to do was get as near to the edge of the pool as possible, in a very clear voice murmur, "I seek the land of Silver Secret," jump in, and they should arrive on the island in a few moments. The only other thing Roxane mentioned was not to budge until you felt the solid ground of the island under their feet.

"Do I need to repeat anything?" Roxane asked.

Everyone shook their heads, impatient to get started.

"Ok then, I'll go first, then follow one by one. Wait a few seconds before jumping in after the person your after," then Roxane jumped in the pool, which was deeper than expected. Magically, she began to turn the same color of the water in the pool, and then vanished altogether. Then Meggie went, with Farid, Resa, and Mo following her in that order.

The villains had also landed on Silver Secret. The mistress— still anonymous— was picking out herbs and other things for her potions while Basta was trying hard not to take out his knife and threaten the merchant instead of asking nicely for the things they were taking. Unfortunately, the mistress already knew everything about the trading-type thing the people on the island had. Basta failed his task easily, so the mistress did it for him. You would be very surprised if you had seen how sweet she made her voice sound:

"Thank you so much for these herbs and other plants. I think this has been the best stop all day!" Then she gave the merchant some spices and walked off.

Once they were some way off, the mistress said to Basta,

"Let us go back to the ship, I have to so a quick spell for our trip, then we'll finish what we came here for." Then Basta replied,

"But I thought we came here for your potion needs!"

"If I had mentioned what we were actually here for you have never agreed to come, with all the nonsense your afraid of!" she replied mysteriously.

Basta went white as a sheet, for he knew exactly what they were there for.

Once Meggie and the others had landed, they searched for a person they could speak to. Finally, they found a merchant selling herbs and such (the same merchant Basta and the mistress had went to) and asked him questions.

"Have you seen a man with one eye and a mistress together recently?" Roxane asked with a friendly face, so that the merchant would get suspicious.

"Ah, yes I have! They just left actually!" he responded.

"Really? Were they buying anything in particular?" Roxane asked.

"Actually yes, and I was quite surprised at the items! They were buying everything they needed to do a spell that calls the White Women themselves!" he said, his face turning pale.

The others turned pale too, and once Roxane had calmed down a bit, she asked again,

"Is tonight a full moon?" She seemed frightened, and the man flinched as she asked.

"Oh, lord, it is! Do you know what this means miss?" he said, and Roxane nodded slowly. Then she asked,

"Do you know where they are to do the spell tonight?"

"There is only one place they can do it, miss. They would have to go to the highest point of this island, and that happens to be Hut Circle!"

"Is that the place up in the trees with all the huts?" Roxane questioned.

"Yes it is miss," he responded, "and if any of you are interested or in need of seeing this spell done, then I will certainly help hide you up in Hut Circle before they get there!"

"Oh, thank you! We don't have much, and even if you refuse the gifts, I am giving them to you anyway, for you have been a big help!" Roxane exclaimed, and gave the merchant a few very rare herbs of hers after fishing in her bag.

"I'll meet you at sunset under Hut Circle," the merchant said and left.

After he was out of hearing, Roxane gathered everyone into a huddle and explained everything they had been talking about.

"Turns out the mistress has a few spells up her sleeves, and she's going to call up a White Woman tonight, and the merchant shall help us get near enough to listen to what the White Woman and the mistress have to talk about."

When she finished the rest were as white as she. However they all nodded their heads in agreement. Before they left their little huddle though, Farid said,

"I don't think I can go. I have already died, and if the White Woman gets close enough she will probably try to take me back to their land again." This had perfectly good sense, and everyone else thought it was a _very _good idea for him to stay far away from the spell.

"I'm going to stay with him," Meggie said loyally.

They broke their huddle and went off to explore the rest of the island to try to take their minds off their plans for later on that night.

It was sunset now, and Roxane, Mo, and Resa were safely hidden in one of the huts of Hut Circle. The mistress and Basta hadn't appeared yet, and they were already getting stiff. They were crowded in one of the tiniest closets of a hut. Their arguments sounded something like this,

"Ow, get off my foot, Mo!"

"That's Resa's foot idiot!"

"Stop pulling my hair!"

"I can't!"

"Move over I'm cramped!"

"SO ARE WE!"

But then they heard footsteps, so they all quieted down, although the same things kept happening without their comments.

"Have you got my cauldron and the bottle I gave you?" the mistress asked.

"Yes," Basta replied.

"Good. Put the cauldron right on this bridge in-between these huts, and hand me the bottle. We have to wait until the moon is up," the mistress ordered.

"Oh, but I will be so tired by then," Basta tried as an excuse to get away.

"Stop your wining and do as you were told!" the mistress exclaimed.

"Yes _ma'am," _Basta replied, still being more polite than he thought was possible.

Obviously, by now the three eavesdroppers had concluded that their was some deal that made Basta stay this polite and obedient.

The moon had now risen, and the mistress started to chant something in a different language they couldn't understand, and then she put a drop of the liquid in her bottle inside the bowl. Afterwards, one of the pale White Woman appeared facing the mistress.

"Is everything prepared?"

"Of course. We have convinced the fire-eater that his friends will be able to save him, though as you understand it isn't true. However, the fire-eater has informed us that they are on their way, and your friends are also ready for the fire-eaters apprentice to do his work," the White Woman answered.

"Wonderful. How far is the journey to the end of the world?" the mistress asked.

"Only about a month by boat," the White Woman responded again.

"Thank you, you may return to you land," the mistress said, putting another drop of the liquid into the bowl, and the White Woman vanished.

Then the pair made their way down to the ground, and then Mo, Resa, and Roxane collapsed out of the closet. They were breathless from the information they had discovered.

They found Meggie and Farid sleeping peacefully under a tree nearby. Resa shook them awake, and they Mo told what they had found out. Then Farid asked,

"Are we still going then? Clearly, this is all a trap."

"I think we should still go. We should find out what their up to, and maybe we can still save Dustfinger in the end," Roxane stated.

"I'm game if all of you are," Meggie said.

They talked a little more, but decided it was a good idea. They were in no danger until they reached the end of the world, since Farid was needed to do his fire. Besides, this was too great of an adventure for them to miss out on!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inkheart/Inkspell charaters.

A/N: This chapter is actually important, even though it's short and it may not seem that way. Besides, you should know an author doesn't just write something for no reason! So pay attention, and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4

The next day, the group spent their time enjoying their stay on the island, and trying to find someone who could spare them a boat that was big enough for them all.

Thankfully, they eventually found the same merchant that had helped them the day before, and he had a ship that was a sloop. He led them to see the ship, and they saw how wonderful it was. It was the perfect size, and was a beautiful sight too. The boat was the exact color of a tree, with beautiful pictures of mermaids, water nymphs, a fire-eater, a strolling player, the Castle of Ombra, and all sorts of animals carved onto its sides. It had one mast, with a red sail with a big black heart in the center. Farid asked about the heart, and Mo told him it stood for Inkheart.

As soon as Roxane— with the help of everyone else— gave the merchant money for the boat, the adults began to load the boat with food, water, and the few things they had brought with them on the trip.

Farid and Meggie were told to find something else to do— and to report back to the ship at sunset— and they gladly did so. Farid went to practice his fire, and Meggie roamed the town.

Meggie found many things that caught her interest and others that grossed her out, but she had a nice time. The only thing that was unpleasant was the heat, and how sweaty and sticky she felt.

So, Meggie decided to take a dip in the ocean. She found a part of the beach where there weren't any people around. She took off everything but her underclothes, and walked into the water. It felt cold at first, but also very refreshing.

She spent her time looking at the stones covering the bottom of the ocean through the clear water. They were bigger and shinier than the ones in this world, and each one seemed to have a design carved into it. She swam in deeper, took and deep breath, and plunged into the water. It was even more beautiful the deeper she went in, with the turtles and crabs.

Unable to hold her breath any longer, she went back to the surface. To her surprise, there was Farid in front of her. Thankfully, he had only taken off his shirt. From the look on his face, he was surprised to see her there too, and was blushing, looking as red as his fire. After some silence between them, Meggie said,

"What are you doing here, Farid? I thought you were practicing your fire."

"Some old man found me doing so and got scared, so I had to leave," he replied, still blushing.

"You know, if Mo finds us here, he'll kill us," Meggie said.

"That's true, but do you really think he will?" Farid asked, beginning to turn his normal color.

"No," Meggie said returning the smile.

"Come on, let's pretend Mo doesn't care, and we can do whatever we want together," Farid said.

"Ok, I'm in," Meggie replied.

"Come on, I want to show you something," Farid said, and pulled her underneath the water with him.

Once they were under, Farid went to a nearby coral reed Meggie hadn't noticed. He swam to its bottom and broke off a piece that was jutting out of it, and signaled Meggie back to the surface. Then he handed Meggie the small piece of coral saying,

"Keep it with you, you may need it someday."

"What's it for, Farid?" Meggie asked curiously.

"You'll find out one day or another," Farid said with a mysterious look in his eye.

"Good enough for me," Meggie replied pleased.

They walked back to shore, quickly getting dressed. Afterwards, Farid did a bit of his wonders, and gave Meggie a flower of fire. Then they walked back to the ship hand in hand.

The beautiful boat was ready to set sail, though it was only about three. They stepped aboard, finding the adults fighting over stupid things. The best argument to watch was the one about naming the ship:

"It should be named after me!"

"Why should we do that you selfish brat!"

"Then what's your suggestion?"

"To name it after me of course!" Snickers came from Farid and Meggie.

"NO!"

"Why don't we name it after something else? Like a simple plant or animal?" Good suggestion, but,

"No, too plain!"

"I don't think any of your ideas would be better!" And on it went, with pointless remarks like shown.

After a little bit of laughing at the entertainment, Farid and Meggie decided to find pick out a room on the ship for them to share. The one to their convenience was the farthest one down the narrow hall, with two beds and trunks for their small package of clothes and other things.

Meggie put her piece of coral and flower inside the trunk with her other things, and lay down on her bed. Farid had unpacked and was laying on his bed, when a growling from both stomachs made them jump up immediately to go find some food. Too lazy to find a kitchen, they went to the bickering grown-ups— though that's just a standard name, for these grown-ups looked like arguing babies.

Meggie broke up the bickering saying,

"The boat is going to be named Silver Adventure, and that's final! Now stop acting like idiots and start thinking about acting more like the responsible adults you _think _you are!"

They ignored Meggie's little lecture and only payed attention to the name Meggie had mentioned, finally nodding their heads in agreement. Finally, they were ready to work.

"What we're having for dinner is a good question. I happened to buy a tray in the market!" Resa said proudly.

"So, we're going to snack on a metal tray?" Meggie said disgusted.

"You're forgetting the magic part of this world Meggie," Resa replied, "It's not like those boring trays in our world. This tray gives you any food or utensils you want."

"Good job, Resa! Where is it?" Farid asked.

"Let me get it, and we could start our feast!" Resa replied, quickly disappearing into the hallway and into her room.

Resa came back with the tray and a table too. So one by one everyone went up to the tray, asking them for their meals. Then they sat down on chairs that had appeared, enjoying their meal and company.

The next day, everyone was awoken at dawn, and was prepared to make their way to the end of the world. The merchant had come to say his good-bye, and to give everyone instructions on how to keep the ship going.

Once this was over, he left, and set sail. They saw a beautiful sunset ahead of them, and they were all thinking the same thing:

Bring it on!

The mistress and her crew were close on the others' trail. They kept a safe distance behind to prevent from being spotted. Meanwhile, the mistress was getting things prepared for the day of the end of the trip, even though it was only the beginning. She had tons to prepare, for it was to be a night remembered by all on the boat.

"Basta get my cauldron ready, and put all my potions on the boat into my room!" she called.

Basta reacted immediately, and she started to do the many arts she possessed. Disobeying her rules, Basta interrupted her saying,

"Why do you want your mother and father back so bad?"

"How dare you interrupt, you filthy little dog! And, am I mistaken by saying that you were a slave to my father, and obeyed his every word?"

"That may be true, but—"

"Not another word! I want my father back just as much as you want you master back! Now I understand why he was going to feed you to the Shadow!"

Basta turned pale and kept quiet, remembering that day. He was looking forward to seeing the mistress's parents, but dreading it just as much.

So on both boats went, one behind the other. They enjoyed the fresh salt breeze, and found many things to do during the hours and hours they had to kill. What an adventure they had to look toward to!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Inkheart/Inkspell, but I do own the new character in this chapter!

A/N: All I have to say is enjoy the story!

* * *

Chapter 5

"I'm bored."

"Ditto."

Meggie and Farid were over and done with the first day's excitement, and the hours on the boat dragged by slowly. There wasn't anything they could do except... sit there.

"Let's play a game!" Meggie tried. She had tried this several times before, but the game usually became as boring as the journey after a few minutes.

"Give it a shot," Farid replied, showing no attempt to even _pretending_ to be enthusiastic.

"How bout... uh... I Spy!"

"Meggie, all we can spy is something blue!"

"Nice start to the game Farid!" Meggie was trying very hard to keep the 'game' going. "Um..." She looked around. Dead end, everything around the boat was blue! Blue sky, blue water, and that was it.

She gave in, and sat down with her head on her arms next to Farid. Then...

"Blue!"

"Meggie, I'm sick of the ocean, don't make it worse!" Farid replied.

"No, look Farid! Land straight ahead!" and she was right. Anybody could see it with a quick glance. It was an island, and it seemed to have it's own dreary-looking blue sky surrounding it. The island seemed to be hinting 'turn around, or else!'

Meggie ran excitedly to tell her parents and Roxane, and they rushed back on deck with Meggie, for they too were hoping to see land again.

"Let's go! I need to step foot on land or my legs might turn into rubber!" Resa said, and she and Mo went to steer the ship toward the island.

"Are you going, Farid?" Meggie asked.

"I'm game if you are," he replied, giving Meggie a small smile.

Going back to the other ship, the mistress and Basta were confused. They were close behind the other ship, but couldn't believe they were headed for the drear island. The mistress knew better than anyone about the island:

"Basta, we are not to follow them. We shall set anchor a safe distance away,"

"Are you kidding? I'm following them!" Basta replied.

"Basta, Blue Nightmare— that's the island in front of us— is a dreaded place, especially for a man with as many superstitions like yourself. Those people don't know what they're in for!"

"Well then, _my mistress, _if your so smart, what's so horrible about the island?"

"Didn't you get a hint from the name of the island? Blue Nightmare happens to be a place where _nightmares _come true, and the island happens to be surrounded by _blue_ waters and skies! So once you step foot on the island, you better hope you have a ship waiting for you when you get back!"

"Then why not just destroy their ship so they die of fright on the island?" Basta suggested. It wasn't a bad one—for an evil guy like himself— but he forgot they needed Farid for the whole mission to work, and was quickly reminded by the mistress.

However, Meggie and the others had learned nothing about Blue Nightmare.

Meggie and the rest had landed on Blue Nightmare, and were relieved to feel solid ground underneath their feet. After getting used to walking on Earth again, they started to walk around.

The edge of the island was surrounded by a thick forest, and took a while to get through. The trees blocked out the sun, but even when they reached a clearing, there were so many clouds above them, it seemed like an endless night, with no hope of the sun coming out.

They sat down to take a break. Meggie looked at her surroundings, and saw two sets of eyes spying through the trees in front of her, and then disappearing again. Making sure no one was watching, she set off to shadow them, which was no easy task. She couldn't move as quickly as the thing in front of her, but managed to stay close enough. She finally noticed it was slowing her pace, and entering another clearing. Meggie followed. It was a nightmare come true.

She screamed.

Farid was the only one that heard Meggie's scream.

"Oh, no! Meggie!" and he started running towards where he had heard her high-pitched scream.

The adults eventually noticed the two had gone, and trailed them also. However it took them much longer then the kids, therefore fell way behind.

Farid—— the light footed person he was—— was able to get to the clearing with Meggie in good time. When he came out of the bushes, he tripped immediately. He turned around to see what he tripped over, and he screamed too.

It was Meggie— but as a corpse.

Farid fell silent, the world spinning around him. He fell to the ground, but someone caught him.

It was Meggie herself!

"Farid, are you alright?" then she saw the corpse, and dropped Farid.

He got up, shakily, and asked,

"Which one are you? I was afraid something had killed you, but then you caught me! What's going on!"

"Farid, I'm the real Meggie! I don't know how that got there!" she said facing Farid. When she turned back to face her corpse, it was gone.

"It's gone Farid!" she exclaimed. He looked too, and said,

"There's something wrong about this island!" Then Meggie asked curiously,

"Farid, what's your greatest fear?"

"Since Dustfinger died, my greatest fear has been that you would die too," Farid replied, and then realized what Meggie was saying. Then Meggie said,

"Well, I guess you came because you heard me scream. When I came into this clearing, Basta was there with his knife at the ready! When I tried defending myself, he disappeared! Just like my corpse! I guess this island is where your nightmares come true!"

"Let's go find everyone else," Farid replied. He grabbed Meggie by the hand and pulled her through the thick forest. On their way, they met many more frights, but ran away, and their nightmares disappeared quickly. In the distance, they heard other screams and grunts and tried ignoring them as best they could.

When they finally found everyone, they had found someone else too. It was a boy about Farid and Meggie's age, but he was thin and pale. He looked as if he was thanking Mo. When Mo saw them, he said,

"Looks like we've found a new companion. He's been stranded on this island for months!" Farid and Meggie felt bad for him, but replied,

"We have to leave now, this land is a place where your—"

"The boy has already explained, and we were actually going to go look for you, but let's leave now that we're all together," Roxane cut in.

Quickly and quietly, the group found their way back to the boat. The climbed aboard, and immediately set sail. Though none of them said anything, they all knew that there were many more surprises waiting for them on this journey.

There was complete silence on the ship. No one new what to say to the kid, and no one had anything to say to each other.

Bearing the silence no longer, Meggie went up to their new companion saying,

"Who are you? How did you get to that island?"

"Don't wanna talk about it..." he replied with a distant look in his eyes.

"Well, it's either you tell us the story now, or your going to have to listen to my pleading throughout the _long_ journey," Meggie replied making his decision for him.

"Ok..."he said, and everyone sat down to listen to his story.

"Before going to island— which by the way, is called Blue Nightmare— I had lived on Silver Secret. My parents were highly respected on my island, though I cannot remember why. They used to say I was special, and had a lot to live up to, though I just believed it to be encouragement. When I was still a little kid, my parents went on a boat trip, and were caught by a storm that sunk their ship. When I heard the news, I decided to get a good reputation on the island. I eventually became known as a tough kid, who wasn't afraid of anything, though no one knew the half of it. When I heard rumors of Blue Nightmare, I decided to go there. A friend of mine brought me there on his ship, and left me there— which, was actually my suggestion. Then I was haunted by my nightmares all over the island, and eventually went mad. I wanted to leave, but no one was there to bring me back. When I saw you arrive on your ship, I followed you, hoping you would bring me with you. And you did, and now I'm here."

It wasn't a possible story, though everyone felt as if they had just heard a legend. They sat silently for a while, until Meggie said,

"Who was the person who told you your parents died?"

"I don't know who she was, but she said she had been out at sea with them, but was the only one that survived," came the answer.

"Do you have a name?" Farid asked.

"Razz," he replied, not very fondly.

One by one, they left Razz alone, doing their daily doings— well, the ones who had some. Though, whenever they passed him by, he had his head down and tears in his eyes.

The mistress had seen the new boy board the ship, which immediately set her curiosity into action. She went into her room, getting a quick potion ready.

She had to know who the boy was!

She added a sprinkle of this, a little of that. When she was finished, she sat down, preparing herself for a puff of flames coming from her cauldron. As if a movie, the flames started turning into shapes, telling the boy's story.

When it was finished, she stomped out of her room in a rage, calling Basta to her side.

"This boy must be executed!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Basta asked.

"A boy has just boarded their ship, and he will be a disaster to our plans! We must find him, and kill him!"

"My specialty," Basta replied with a terrifying look in his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inkheart/Inkspell charaters.

A/N: I know it's been a while since I've written, but I've been busy. Sorry! But, here's the next chapter, and I'll update another as soon as possibl! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6 

It had been about another week on board their ship, but Razz hadn't said anything at all. The only thing they saw him do was roam around the ship, and eat the meals off the magic tray.

The others only did a little more than Razz. Farid and Meggie talked and roamed the ship, keeping themselves occupied with little chores on deck. The adults were the same, but they also worried about Razz and other adult worries. It was day, after boring day...

On board the other ship, the mistress was enjoying her time. She was pampered by her lady-in-waiting, and had something like a day at the spa every day.

Basta went fishing everyday— mainly because the mistress told him too, and because he like to torture the fish.

After many days of this, the mistress grew tired off her spa days, and ordered Basta to her side.

"Like yourself, this long ride is beginning to be torture, so—"

"No, actually, I'm enjoying it, mistress," Basta interrupted.

"As I was saying! You are bored out of your mind, like myself! Get my potions ready, were speeding up this journey!"

"What are you going to do? Brew up the strongest wind possible?"

"Of course not! That's too old fashioned! I'm summoning a water cyclone that will drag our ships into its rotation, and bring us to the world's end!"

"Ahhh, yes, of course," Basta pretended to have thought it wonderful.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get my potion room ready!" she shrieked.

"Oh, of course, _mistress," _Basta replied, and hurried off.

Once her things were ready, the mistress stood firmly in front of her cauldron. She grabbed a bucket of salt water, and a bucket of fresh water, dumping them into the cauldron. Then she added seaweed, clams, and a frog's toe. She put a little more of this and that, and let it sit for a while.

Once that was finished she muttered a few foreign words, and went onto the deck.

There, the cyclone was appearing.

On board the other ship, Meggie was the first to see and panic about the cyclone. Quickly she warned everyone on board, and soon everyone was pacing up and down the deck as the cyclone came nearer and nearer.

"Mo, the cyclone's not going any farther, we have to think of something instead of just pacing!" Meggie panicked. As if they were in the middle of a picnic, Roxane replied,

"What's all the fuss about? There's nothing to worry about Meggie!"

"ARE YOU COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND!" the others chorused.

"Actually, I'm thinking like people born and raised inthe Inkworldthink. First of all, your overeacting," Roxane replied, and paused to stop Meggie's comeback. "Secondly, if you had my knowledge, you would noticed the cyclone is enchanted, and it has no intention of harming us."

"It's odd you act like the cyclone's your best friend," Farid retorted.

"Because it is, since it doesn't want to harm us," Roxane replied.

Everyone calmed down with Roxane's teachings, and actually waited anxiously for the cyclone, to see what would happen.

Inch by inch, foot by foot, the cyclone approached their ship. Soon, it was only a foot away, and everyone on deck had their hearts popping out of their chests.

Then, their ship was dragged into the cyclone's path, spinning and spinning. The noise it created was unbearable, with winds shrieking in their ears, and water splashing with it.

"Hold on tight everyone, and don't panic!" Roxanne ordered.

Their knuckles turned white holding onto the edge of the ship, and they were panicking.

_This is going to be a bad landing! _Meggie thought. She opened her eyes to see what was happening, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw another ship. It was also spinning with the cyclone, and the few people on deck that Meggie could see were also panicking. They seemed to be running around wildly, in search of something to save them. But what dragged her eyes was the one and onlyBasta, who's face turned into scorn when he saw Meggie. For a bigger surprise, to his left was the same woman she had gotten a glimpse of in the library.

_No, this isn't right! I must be dreaming! _Meggie thought frightened. As if in reply to her thoughts, when she looked back, the pair were gone, as if they had vanished.And then, she was able to notice they had landed.

"Meggie, you could let go of the boat now, we landed, it's over!" Farid reassured her.

"Right... ok," she replied wearily.

In her mind's eye pictures were passing by, most of them not even recent. She saw herself in the library... then Basta with Farid in a headlock... their boat being made... herself and Farid swimming in the beach... then Basta's and the lady's icy stare from across the boat.

"Are you alright, Meggie?" she heard Farid say faintly.

Then, the world slowly went black...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer:I do not own any of the Inkheart/Inkspell charaters.

A/N: Here's the next chapter, and there's more coming on the way!

* * *

Chapter 7

When Meggie woke, the sun was setting, and it was unbearably hot. Her shirt was sticking to her, and her hair was wet with sweat.

"Meggie! Your awake!" Farid said. He was sitting beside her bed, and it was clear he had stayed there waiting for her to wake up. His ruffled hair and worried face proved it.

"Yeah, Farid, I am," she replied.

"How did you faint?" he questioned immediately.

"I don't even know the answer to that, Farid. The only thing I remember is after the cyclone, I was extremely dizzy," she replied while sitting up.

"Maybe it was that and the heat. Well now that your awake, we can go eat. Plus, everyone's on the deck waiting to know what happened," Farid said.

They went to the deck, and, it was true. The adults were eating, but they had a nervous look on their face, and their forks were shaking. Though when they saw Meggie, their worries were gone and a smile wassettled on each oftheir faces.

"Hi everyone—"

"Meggie what—" they chorused.

"If your wondering what happened," Meggie interrupted, "then I can't answer your question, well, not really. I just felt dizzy after the– wow, the sun is bright!" she finished on a new topic.

When she had looked up, she had noticed how large the sun looked. Though at sunset the sun usually looked large,it was nowabnormally large.

"Yeah, can you believe it? The cyclone brought us all the way to our destination!" Resa said happily.

"I just have to do what Dustfinger told me to do, and we're going home— but with a new passenger!" Farid said with a smile brighter than the sun. After a small moment of silence, Meggie said,

"It just seems too simple..." No one noticed her comment, so she sat down at the table.

The passengers ate and talked cheerfully, almost as a type of celebration for their accomplishment. But the whole time, Meggie couldn't stop thinking about all the pictures going through her head. It was as if someone was trying to tell her something, making her put pieces of an unsolved puzzle together.

Frustrated, she raised her head to eat. As she did so, she saw Razz smiling at her.

The mistress was in the best mood of her life. Her cyclone had worked, and it was only a matter of time for her plan to take full effect.

"Yes, soon the Inkworld will come back to its former glory!" she exclaimed.

"It's not that exciting," Basta muttered under his breath.

"What did you say!" the mistress asked in a rage.

"I said, it's the most exciting thing that can happen to my pitiful life," Basta covered.

"That's what I thought you said! Now get on the deck and see how the other ship is doing! For all I know, their ship could be ruined and our plans would be, too," she ordered.

"There's nothing I would enjoy more," Basta replied sarcastically.

The mistress ignored his remark and let him go.

On deck, Basta started barking orders himself, and soon, sitting in front of him was the Inkworld's newest invention, the _Spyscope_. It was a large telescope, with a large microphone to go with it. To work it, all he had to do was put headphones in his ears, and look into the telescope. The telescope allowed him to spy on his "companions". Before they had left,when Basta had tried to grab Meggie outside the city, he had stuck a nanochip on her shirt, which now allowed him to hear everything they were saying. When he put a pair of headphones in his ears, he heard the group talking:

"If your wondering what happened, then I can't answer your question, well, not really. I just felt dizzy after the– wow, the sun is bright!" _that's the brat Meggie! I can't stand that little witch!_ Basta thought.

"Yeah, can you believe it? The cyclone brought us all the way to our destination!" _That's Resa. They don't know the trouble they're in! _He thought evilly.

"I just have to do what Dustfinger told me to do, and we're going home— but with a new passenger!" _the fire-eater, playing right into our trap! _Basta chuckled with this thought.

"It just seems too simple..." _the little brat finally has some sense! _Basta thought rolling his eyes. As he moved his telescope, he saw the smiling Razz, and became confused.

_Who the heck is he? Probably just some kid... the mistress better let me be the one to stick my knife into him! _He thought again while barking orders to have the _Spyscope_ put away.

Like an obedient dog, he reported back to the mistress, who thought nothing of the new passenger.

"No matter, he's just another fool we'll have to get rid of!" the mistress said bored.

"When will that happen?" Basta asked.

"When the time comes I will tell you! Now go busy yourself with something else! I have work to do!" the mistress exclaimed.

"Of course," Basta replied. "But, mistress, I think it's time!"

Tonight was the night. The night everyone was waiting for. The night Farid would finally have Dustfinger, Dustfinger would have Farid, Meggie would have Farid, Farid would have her. She confused herself with these thoughts, but it was all true.

Farid was on the deck, with a bare torso as was tradition for fire-eaters. He had just eaten fire honeycombs, and was waiting for nightfall to start his spectacle.

"Are you sure your ready, Farid?" Meggie asked worried.

"Of course! If Dustfinger's coming back when this is all over, I'm willing to do more than this task!"

"Yeah, um... about that Farid," Meggie responded.

"What's wrong?" Farid asked.

"Well, remember when I fainted?"

"Clearly..."

"Well, when we landed, I started seeing all these visions in my mind's eye---like things that've been happening to us on this so called "adventure". It was as if they all could be put together to solve a puzzle to help us," she blurted out quickly.

"Plenty of odd things have happened here, but I don't think you could be becoming psychic! You already know how to read things off the pages!" Farid replied with a smile.

"But, just think!"

"About what? Your visions? I don't think you should worry about them, Meggie!" Farid stated.

"When something happens, be prepared for me to say 'I told you so'!" Meggie responded, and stomped off to her room.

Clearly it was wrong to have gotten mad at Farid over little visions, but she couldn't help herself. Meggie knew she supported Farid when it came to him playing with fire, so why couldn't he support her?

She sat on her bed, trying to straighten out her thoughts. As if it was a reflex, she took out Farid's gifts from their swim in the beach. The fire flower was still glowing brightly, and the reef looked as if had just come out of the water. Thinking of that day lighten Meggie's mood a little.

A sudden stroke of heat brought Meggie out of the real world. Now it was clear Farid had begun without giving a thought to Meggie's sudden outburst. _Might as well go and watch,_ Meggie thought to herself.

Though it was deep into the night, Farid's fire made it look like the sun was rising. He was sweating with the monstrous heat of his fire, but he had a smile on his face as if it was a day on the playground.

A shriek from above drew Meggie's eyes to the skies. Slowly, the fire was turning a pale white, and as it did, the shrieking got louder. Farid tookhis hands aways from his fire, to cover his ears. But the fire stayedas stiff as a wall, and continued togetting whiter.When everyone thought their ears would burst, the shrieks slowly turned into words:

_You have accomplished your task,_

_so your prize will come at long last._

_His heart is sore,_

_and he has betrayed you once more._

_He is still intact,_

_though you might get attacked._

_But here he is,_

_Yes, Dustfinger he is._

Everyone by now had discovered that it was the White Women speaking. But they still shared confused looks thinking what they might mean by their rhyme.

Another ear-shattering shriek worse than the last broke their train of thought. Up in the heavens, the white fire was swirling around in a thin column, representing a tornado. As it picked up speed, everyone on the boat had to grab on to something with white knuckles.

_Oh please, make it stop!_ Meggie prayed. As if in an answer to her prayer, the white tornado slowed to a stop, and they could see something slowly descending. It was still at least a hundred feet up in the air, but Farid recognized the object immediately.

"Dustfinger! You're back!" Farid exclaimed, tears of joy falling down his face.

Ever so slowly, Dustfinger descended onto the deck. He looked stunned, and when his legs touched the deck theywobbled beneath him. He needn't have worried though, because Farid ran to him and embraced him tightly. With Farid's touch, Dustfinger completely came back to the real world, completely intact.

"Farid, my boy! Yes, I'm back!" Dustfinger said with a bigger smile than Farid's.

They shared a moment of joy and hugs, but all of a sudden, a look of dread passed through Dustfinger's face, and he repeated,

"Yes, I'm back..."

Going over to the couple, Meggie struggled to pry Farid away from Dustfinger. Once she had done so, she let Dustfinger sit down, and everyone crowded around him.

"What's wrong, Dustfinger?" Meggie asked.

"There isn't anything wrong, Meggie! How could there be? He's back with us!" Farid replied doubtfully.

"No, Farid, there's something wrong," Mo said, noticing Dustfinger's look of dread.

Dustfinger looked up to face Mo's icy stare. Mo, of all people obviously knew Dustfinger well enough to know there was something very wrong.

"Come clean Dustfinger! Now!" Mo said furiously.

"Ok, Mo, ok! To get back here, I had to pay a price! This lady wanted me to convince you all to come because she wanted you to be here for the arrival of somebody.." Dustfinger replied vaguely.

"Dustfinger, I know you know the exact details to what your talking about, so go ahead and tell us!" Mo rephrased his threat.

"Ok! This mistress has planned this all out! Back up to before you left Roxanne's cottage! She made the trees make you a boat, and they made her one too! Then, she got Basta—"

"Basta!" Mo asked shocked.

"Yes Basta! She got Basta to help her, and then Basta tried to grab Meggie on the cliff so she could be bait incase you decided not to come—"

"Dustfinger! How could you let that happen!" Farid and Meggie chorused.

"Yes, it happened! And this whole ride she's been following you, just a few meters behind, and you haven't noticed! And in just a few minutes, some other people are going to be coming out of the White Womens' lands, the ones she's been waiting for! And after that, that mistress and Basta and their crew are coming in for an attack!" Dustfinger finished his story in a quick pace.

"YOU LUNATIC! YOU TRAITER! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FELT FOR YOUR IDEAS AGAIN! THIS IS THE THOUSANDTH TIME YOU HAVE USED ME TO SAVE YOUR BEHIND!" Mo screamed right into Dustfinger's face. Everyone except Roxanne and Razzhad seen him use a sword and murder many people a while back, butthe look on Mo's face and thesound of his voicewere even more frightening than anything Mo had ever down before.

"Wow, Mortimer, I have never seen you become so furious with Dustfinger before," a voice said behind them.

The voice was cold and frightening, though it had said such little words. It brought back painful memories to everyone, and they were afraid to turn around.

Though once they had, in front of them were Capricorn, Mortola, an unknown woman, Basta, and the rest of the other ship's crew, all armed and ready to attack.

"I told you so, Farid," Meggie whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inkheart/Inkspell characters (but the mistress and Razz are mine)

A/N: Here's the next chapter.Hope you like it! I'd also like to give a shout-out to Duckweed, she made me fix it to make it this good.

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Chapter 8

"Well, well! Looks like you are fools! And looks like my plan worked! Oh, but I have to give Dustfinger some credit, can't take it all for myself!" Capricorn said.

"Hello Capricorn," Dustfinger said with an exaggerated fake cheer.

"And what about me?" the anonymous mistress replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear! I'd like to introduce my godchild," Capricorn said.

"Godchild! How does that work out?" Mo asked amazed.

"Yes, I am his godchild! Do you have a problem with this?" the mistress asked, and without waiting for a reply, she continued, "It just so happens that Capricorn took me in from the streets and let me live in his fortress years back, saying that I was his godchild. But that was before you evil bookworms brought him to your world!"

"He liked our world, just so you know little mistress! Besides, it was an accident!" Meggie replied, standing up for Mo and returning the mistress's icy stare.

"You stop your babbling! You should respect me, and my godfather! Now, we're not here to dwell on the past, we're here to get my— I mean to say, our— revenge! Out of the goodness of my heart, I'm going to give you five seconds to run before we begin the siege!" the mistress said villainously.

"Well spoken, Calamita!" Capricorn said with a sickening pride.

The fact that Capricorn raised a child was disturbing, but his vile character trait was resembled easily in the so-called Calamita. However, once this thought had passed, they began to notice their death defying situation. Everyone looked around hurriedly and in vain for a spot to hide in, or a place to run to. But the problem was, they were on a boat in the middle of the ocean. There weren't many places to run towards.

Dustfinger was unfortunately ordered to stand his ground, and he did so with the same look a mistreated puppy would give you. To their surprise, everyone else was actually moving, instead of glued to the floor in fright. Mo and Farid decided quickly to dive overboard, seeing there was no where else to go. But Roxane had something else on her mind, and she brought Resa and Meggie with her.

"Why didn't we just dive overboard like Farid and Mo?" Meggie asked, partly complaining, partly stating the obvious.

"Because there's a better place to hide than holding your breath underwater," Roxane replied.

"Where?" Resa asked. Meggie looked at her accusingly because she had thought she would know.

"A hidden compartment in your room," Roxane said.

"Ok... How come you haven't told me about it?" Meggie asked. They had arrived in Meggie room, and Roxane was touching Meggie's bed was against. With a sudden pop, a door a little larger than a cabinet popped open. Roxane crawled inside, trying her best not to take up too much room. Then she said,

"I didn't need to tell you about it because I wasn't planning to be attacked by the resurrected Capricorn!" They heard voices on deck, so Resa quickly climbed in, followed by Meggie.

"Your on my foot!"

"Who's finger is in my eye?

"Who just elbowed me?"

There were a lot of these questions until Roxane whispered hardly audibly,

"We're all cramped, but we should stop before they hear us."

Their silence showed their agreement. The new silence coming from the deck made their hearts pop out of their chests, all three of them thinking that one of Capricorn's henchmen were bound to find their hiding spot sooner or later. When they had been there for a while Meggie said,

"Wait, we left Razz!"

"No, Meggie! Don't leave this compartment! Anyways, he's probably with Farid and Mo!" Resa said trying to sound stern, but Meggie could hear the panic in her voice.

"How do we know that for sure? And I'm not gonna just let him die! He would have been better off with a lifetime on Blue Nightmare!" Meggie said fiercely. She heard Resa beginning to mutter something in reply, but she didn't wait to hear the end.

She opened the door a crack, checking to see the coast was clear. She was surprised with herself for the bravery she was showing, though behind the mask, she wanted to crawl back into their hiding place, safe and sound.

When she was all the way out, with the door closed behind her, it was so quiet that she could of sworn the pursuers had left. Then—

"Hello, princess!"

"Oh Lord!" In front of her was Basta, with his knife at the ready. He looked at the fear in her eyes with a smirk on his face. He took a swing with his knife, looking as graceful as a swan. Meggie ducked, but Basta still got a large lock of hair.

"You can try, but you eventually won't be able to doge my knife!" Basta said while giving another swing of his knife.

Meggie was horrified, though she had no intention of showing it. Pictures of the war at the end of the Adderhead's castle went through her mind— especially a glimpse of Farid with a knife in side. She frantically moved around the room, trying to keep one eye on Basta, and the other on his knife.

"Ha!" Basta said getting her full attention. She moved only about a centimeter, and his knife slashed across her arm and into the wall behind her. She crawled over to her bed, trying her best to ignore the excruciating pain in her arm. When she turned to spot Basta, he was in front of her, his hands on her throat before she could flinch.

"This is the end of you, princess!" Basta exclaimed.

She was aware that she was nearing the end of consciousness, perhaps maybe the end of her life. In a small attempt to free herself, she took the piece coral and the fire flower from her bed. Her world saw her world darkening, but she gave Basta a weak hit with her "weapons".

_This is the end,_ Meggie thought, but then she felt Basta loosen his grip on her throat, and she heard a cry of pain coming from him. When she looked at him, she saw him backing away, taking his hands off her throat completely. She lay on the floor, gasping for breath, with her prize still in her hand. The only odd thing she had noticed was the intense heat she felt coming from her little weapons.

Looking at it, she saw a blast of red light coming from her gifts. The intense heat got stronger, but she kept her grip on them tight. The stronger the light and heat got, the farther Basta had to venture away from it. Meggie used the few strength she had left to get up, and that gave her improved weapons more power. It gave off a small wave of power, getting bigger the stronger Meggie's grip became. Then, the strongest wave of power came from her weapons, and it threw Basta up and threw the ceiling, and a large splash came to Meggie's ears, signaling Basta's semi-defeat.

"You can come out now Resa and Roxane," she said amazed and warily.

They came out, with a questioning look. As if to prove it's brilliance, it gave off one more wave of power, which almost blinded all three of them. When they were able to open their eyes, Meggie saw that the two gifts had been combined, forming a staff. The piece of coral had expanded to form the actual staff, and the flower had somehow turned into a gold engravement. It was the most beautiful thing any of them had laid their eyes on.

"What happened?" Resa asked amazed.

"I don't know... I was just trying to protect myself from Basta using Farid's gifts, and they combined themselves..."

"Let me see it," Roxane said.

Meggie handed her the wand, but she let it got with a yelp as if it was a hot potato. She couldn't touch it.

"Wow... that is a powerful staff, Meggie! I've never seen anything like it..." Roxane replied with the same amazement as Meggie.

"When did Farid give you those? I never saw him do it," Resa asked with a look only mothers gave to their children.

"Long story..." Meggie replied blushing.

"Short version," Resa retorted.

"Look, we don't have time! The others are still out there!" Roxane interrupted.

"They're okay, they haven't been hurt," someone said.

When they turned, they saw Razz giving them the same smile he had given Meggie before, and the trio gave him a confused stare in return.

"You are no ordinary kid, are you Razz?" Resa asked.

"That may be true, but I have something to say," he replied, walking over to Meggie. "Use your staff wisely, but do not use it selfishly. Otherwise, I'm finished here..." he finished. Slowly, he vanished, as if he was just a figure in a dream.

"We should go help the others and think about this later," Meggie said breaking their momentary silence.

"Agreed."

The three of them walked onto the deck cautiously, looking over their shoulders with every creak of the floor. It was a very short distance to the deck, but it seemed to take them hours to get there. Once they had, the pictures of pure chaos evaporated from their heads, seeing that the only thing happening was Capricorn talking to his crew, with Dustfinger tied up behind him.

They ducked back into the hallway, not chancing being seen.

"What should we do?" Roxane asked.

"Find Farid and Mo," Resa replied stating the obvious.

"How?" Meggie asked. They stood thinking for a small moment, but a small knock interrupted their thoughts. Then:

"Down here!" It was Farid below the deck.

"Oh! Of course! I forgot about that trap door!" Roxane said, making it sound like she forgot where she put her pen.

"Anything else on this ship you haven't bothered telling us?" Meggie asked.

Roxane ignored the question and opened up the well concealed trap door. Out of it came Farid and Mo, both dripping wet from their swim.

"Have they bothered to chase you at all yet?" Mo asked.

"Basta did, but I assume he was disobeying orders," Meggie replied.

"Is he the one that gave you that gash on your arm?" Farid asked, putting a finger to the cut. "Wait, what's that?" Farid asked, taking the magic staff from out of her hands. The original trio waited for him to yelp in pain, but nothing happened.

"How did you do that? Are you playing some trick?" Roxane asked sternly.

"What did I do?"

"Touch the staff!"

"Is there something bad about it?" Farid asked smirking.

"This is very strange! Neither of us were able to touch the staff, but you can!" Roxane said bewildered.

"But Meggie can, too..." he replied.

"But Meggie made the staff!"

"How? And why can't any of you touch it?" Farid questioned.

"It burns our hands," Resa replied before Roxane could become tempered.

"But what is it made of? Besides, it might just be meant for—"

A sudden round of movements from on deck stopped Farid in mid-sentence. With one on top of the other, they gathered round to take a peek of the intruders on deck.

"Find them! They couldn't have gone far! I want half of you onboard, and the other half of you in the water!" Capricorn ordered his crew.

Everyone went off, leaving Capricorn, the Magpie, and the mistress to stand semi-patiently to supervise their crew.

"I found them!" a crew-member barked, making the "hidden" jump.

"Oh boy!" Farid said.

"Split up and run!" Mo instructed.

They did as they were told, running for their lives, all in different directions. If someone had a sky-view of their frantic running, it would have looked like ants trying to escape a boy with a magnifying glass. Everyone had a pursuer, each of them very deadly with an ax, sword, or knife.

Some tried to grab Meggie, but she kept them at a distance with her staff, until none of them were willing to touch her. Mo used fighting skills that had been noticed by everyone just a while ago. Resa and Roxane paired up, trying their best to keep their pursuers at bay.

But Farid was chased by the worst, a battered looking Basta, with his knife at the ready. After a series of dodges and running, they both ended up in the empty kitchen, containing nothing except the magic tray.

_Oh lord, why me! There has to be a damn weapon in here somewhere!_ Farid thought panicking, while dodging Basta's knife.

"You're just like you lover Meggie! Keep dodging, but I'll get you eventually!" Basta said.

"That's where your wrong, since you never got to sticking your knife in her back!" Farid retorted.

That was the wrong thing to say. It enraged Basta ten times more than he already was, giving Farid little time to avoid his knife. There were swings of his knife that came dangerously close, but by sure luck Basta missed. Eventually, Farid ended up taking the tray as a shield, but Basta battered that up quickly.

_Please give me a weapon!_ he kept pleading to God, but he seemed to be busy. Then, Basta took his knife, hitting it smack dab in the center of the tray. He pushed down on his knife with all his might, making Farid slowly sink to the floor with the pressure. When Farid was all the way on the floor, the tray right above his head, he saw a knife forming on the tray. It had a red handle with a flower engraved on it, with the sharpest blade he had ever seen. Then, it slowly dropped onto his lap, like a leaf in the wind. _This doesn't just give out food, _Farid thought cheerfully.

He put the tray back onto the counter and blocked off Basta's knife with his. The sharp blade proved it's quality by cutting through Basta's knife like it was an apple.

"NO! My knife! Your gonna pay fire-eater!" Basta screamed, first with a look of sadness, then with a look of rage.

Basta went to swing a fist at him, but Farid dodged him, and ran out the door, light-footed as always.

Meanwhile, Mo, Resa and Roxane were still on deck, and had ended up being chased by the same henchman. The rest of Capricorn's henchman had tried to capture Meggie, but her staff was still at her aid. Now the henchmen were running around just as frantically Mo and the rest had started off.

Now Farid joined Meggie with a look of contempt.

"Any bruises, broken bones?" Meggie asked.

"Not one!" Farid replied.

Then, a group of Capricorn's henchmen pushed them apart in their state of panic. When she tried to get back to his side, another group pushed passed her, and then another, followed by another.

"THAT'S IT!" Meggie said furiously. Then, with all her might, she brought her staff down onto the deck. At first the wave of power wasn't strong enough, but Farid came to the rescue. He put his hand on the staff too, and together, using all their will-power, a wave of power slowly got stronger, and stronger. Eventually, it covered the whole boat, throwing off all the enemies, and keeping on all friends.

The attack was over. The henchmen started swimming away from the ship, with no interest shown for what Capricorn would do to them.

_Capricorn!_ Meggie thought again. None of them had bothered to think about what had happened to him, the Magpie, and Calamita— or what revenge they would seek.

"YOU BOOKWORM IDIOTS!" that was definitely Capricorn.

Meggie determinedly put her staff in the water, willing it to give them a speedy boost towards the nearest island. To her surprise, with a gentle hum, the boat started moving south, working just like a motorboat.

"Thank God that's over," Dustfinger said, getting a look of fury from everyone on the ship.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inkhear/Inkspell characters--- but Calamita isso mine!**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, and I know it's been like centuries since i last reviewed, but it's spring, and I've got tons of sports and other end-of-school junk happening. And about that last review with the "angry mob", SORRY! Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Oh, and I don't know if you see it, but I think there's something funky about the font, so I made it bold.**

**

* * *

Chapter 9 **

**The boat kept going, but at a slower pace than before. There was an uncomfortable silence among them, silently suggesting the danger they were in. They all sat so still, the only thing that gave off a sign of life was when they looked at each other accusingly— as if someone had to take the blame for this, though the blame was for everyone to share.**

**Meggie motioned Farid over, all the while thinking of their situation. She began to get so lost in her thoughts, she was startled when Farid whispered:**

**"What do you think we should do, Meggie?"**

**"I honestly don't have anything brilliant in mind. Do you?"**

**"Well, we should find the nearest island," Farid replied.**

**"But Capricorn and Calamita are bound to find us— they each have before," Meggie replied, stating the obvious.**

**"Yes, but it'll give us a little more time..." Farid replied, sounding skeptical himself.**

**Together, they sat thinking for a while. All plans they could think of either wouldn't work, or wouldn't work five minutes into the plan. It was frustrating, and felt like all the time at sea had stupefied them— if that was even possible.**

**After much consideration of the idea, and much regret of bringing it up, Meggie said,**

**"We've reached a dead end Farid... the only thing I could think of is having Orpheus write us something."**

**"I guess your right, but think of this: we've been gone for at least a month now, and Orpheus must be furious—"**

**"I know we don't have much time before Capricorn finds us, but its worth a shot!" she said eagerly.**

**"That wasn't my point— but that's true too. Though my point was if we go back, Orpheus will be in a rage that I've been gone so long— after all, where has his servant been?" he replied.**

**"Yes, but don't you remember why you became his slave, Farid? It was because you wanted him to write you something to bring Dustfinger back, but he's here with us already!"**

**"Yes, but he'll want a slave once again to write these words!" Farid replied, raising his voice. Meggie hesitated, but she wasn't finished yet:**

**"But we could try threatening him," Meggie said, ending the discussion with a small beckoning to the staff.**

**Capricorn and his crew had been floating in the water for hours on end. They had looked around for a boat, but none had ever traveled this far. Their helplessness made them ill-tempered, with arguments non-stop among them.**

**Eventually, thirst and hunger got the better of them, and their arguments subsided. Even though just a word could turn into an argument, Capricorn said,**

**"Calamita, can you not make something to get us out of this?"**

**"No, I can't! First, I need a something steady to stand on, the _patience _to do it, and besides, I couldn't understand what you just said!" Calamita said agitated.**

**"Well, what about that boat of yours?" Mortola asked, her patience also thinning.**

**"I had them sink it before we attacked— and don't you give me that look woman! _I _didn't know that those bookworms had a knack for defeating us!" Calamita replied furious.**

**"Well, if it wasn't for your stupidity, we wouldn't be here right now!" Mortola retorted.**

**"Don't you start with me woman!" Calamita replied.**

**"_This_ women happens to be very furious, so _you _better not start with _me_!"**

**"Pardon me, Magpie!"**

**With an surprising amount of strength for her old age, the Magpie attacked Calamita, trying to drown her, but Calamita was still quicker**

**than the Magpie. Soon, it looked like two children doing a more violent version of horse-play at a public pool.**

**After a few minutes the couple were tired— their little supply of energy already used up. Then, breaking their exhausted silence, Calamita exclaimed with the voice of a child:**

**"Driftwood! Get it, Capricorn, before it floats away! I WANT MY DRIFTWOOD!"**

**"I give the orders here Calamita, not you!" he replied stubbornly.**

**With an annoyed sigh, she pushed him out of the way, and grabbed the driftwood.**

**"Help me get on the driftwood!" Calamita said urgently.**

**"How in the world would that help?" Mortola said aggravated.**

**"Do you want to get out of this or not?" Calamita asked, knowing the answer.**

**With a reluctant sigh, both Mortola and Capricorn gave in and helped her balance on the driftwood. Then, with the practice of a master, she began to chant and move her arms about in a circular motion. The air around them began to have a suffocating feeling, all of it joining the motion of Calamita's movements. When the others began to feel as if they couldn't breathe, a the air included in Calamita's movements began turning into a solid red ball, just like a flaming meteoroid. Then, just when everyone lungs felt like they were failing them, Calamita stopped, grabbing the ball firmly in her hand, the suffocating feeling of the air gone with a pop.**

**Then, in a loud and very clear voice, Calamita said to the ball,**

**"Find and destroy our enemy!"**

**"Is there any way of quickening our ride?" Resa asked nervously.**

**"I don't think so," Meggie replied. Meggie and Farid had conferred their idea with the rest of the passengers, and the boat was now back to full speed, though everyone was more anxious than ever to get rid of Capricorn.**

**A little suspiciously and frightened, Roxane said to Meggie,**

**"But Meggie, don't you remember what Razz said to us after you created the staff?"**

**"Yes, he said 'use the staff wisely but do not use it selfishly',"Meggie replied, quoting his exact words.**

**"Well, if you think about it, using the staff to threaten anyone— and I'm talking about Orpheus— would go under using the staff selfishly... in a way,"**

**"That's true, but I'm not really going to do anything to Orpheus— besides, only seeing the staff would intimidate him, don't you think?"**

**"Yes, but you should still think about it before you do anything with it, something bad might happen, " Roxane said.**

**Meggie sighed, thinking it over. All of it was too much for her water-logged head at the moment, so instead she responded to Roxane,**

**"Is that all?"**

**"Not quite... are sure there isn't any other way to get rid of Capricorn? After all, why should we trust Orpheus?" she replied saying what everyone else had been thinking. After everything Orpheus had done to them, no one was comfortable with going to him for help.**

**"It's the only thing we could think of, and no one else seems to have any better ideas..." Meggie said, siding with everyone else's opinion, but still desperate for help.**

**"Alright..." Roxane said.**

**"She may be finished now, but I still thing there's something you should know about," Mo started.**

**"There is such a thing called the power of three— Fenoglio once told me about it— thought it's actually quite a simple concept, so you can stop rubbing your temples, your not that old yet. The power of three works like this: whenever you misuse any type of power, that same magic you use unwisely comes back to you, but the power of the magic is three times as much as the power you used," he finished, with a fatherly look on his face.**

**Meggie sighed and replied with an annoyed sigh:**

**"I don't know any more than you do about the staff, Mo, but I do know that I'm not going to misuse it."**

**"What about you, Farid?" Mo asked facing Farid.**

**"What about me?" Farid said stupidly.**

**"Do you know anything else about the staff?" Mo said.**

**"No," he replied.**

**"Can I say something?" Dustfinger asked timidly.**

**Everyone nodded, showing some interest.**

**Dustfinger sighed, then continued,**

**"I think I have a way to get us out of this without going to Orpheus for help. After all, wouldn't now be as good a time as any to try out the staff?" he paused for dramatic effect, then, facing Meggie, continued:**

**"Now, Meggie, why don't you and Farid both think of an island we could go to for refuge, then grab the staff, think of that island, and will yourselves and us to that island. I'm not sure it'll work, but again, it's worth a shot."**

**After a moment of thought, Meggie replied for the both of them:**

**"The only island we could think of is Silver Secret, and that'll probably be the first place Calamita thinks of to look for us," and Farid nodded in agreement.**

**"Well, do you know of any other passageways to different islands from there Roxane?" Resa asked joining the brainstorming.**

**"Well, yes... but it'll be more difficult than the one that we went through before," Roxane replied.**

**"That'll have to do," Mo replied for Resa.**

**"Well, then, hop to it kids," Dustfinger said.**

**"But, what if—" Farid started.**

**"There's no time for 'what ifs' Farid, just do your best!" Dustfinger interrupted sternly, with a look just asking him to dare ask another question.**

**Meggie grabbed Farid's arm, beckoning him to do it, and gave him a kiss on the cheek for encouragement. With a doubtful look on his face, he took the staff in his hands, leaving room for Meggie's hands. The couple shut their eyes tight, and in one unified motion, they brought the staff up and back down, tapping the deck of the boat lightly.**

**Instantly, the two of them erupted into a flames— surrounding them completely in a warm hug. Though it looked harmful to the others, the fire wasn't really harming them at all.**

**As if it was in a dream, they saw Dustfinger approaching them, trying to grab them out of the fire, but he pulled back his hand with an agonized scream.**

**"Farid, what's happening!" Meggie asked frightenly and nervously. In the midst of her sentence, she felt a tug from above her, and the two of them started to spin. It was as if they were puppets, and someone from above was directing them in the right path.**

**"Hold on, Meggie, we're definitely in for something big!" Farid said, grasping Meggie tight. She didn't reject, but just hung on to him just as tight, closing her eyes, waiting for the worst to come.**

**With another hard tug, they were pulled through the sky, and the fire surrounding them grew larger, making them look like a shooting star.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inkheart/Inkspell characters.

A/N: Enjoy! Hope you like it!

* * *

Chapter 10

Watching Meggie, Farid, and their staff fly into the sun, the companions left on the boat felt their hope of finishing Capricorn off leave too.

"Now look what you've done Dustfinger!" Mo said accusingly. "Now how are we supposed to escape Capricorn!"

"Hey, I didn't say the plan was foolproof, I only said we should try it!" Dustfinger retorted defensively.

"He has a point Mo," Resa said. "Plus, it's not like we were about to think of anything better than his plan."

Mo calmed down with a sigh, giving in to the truth. He dropped down onto the deck, then said:

"Well, you might be back and intact, but now Meggie's gone again!"

"Are you forgetting that Farid's gone too? After all, he may as well be partly my son!" Dustfinger replied, still offended.

Roxane gave Dustfinger an offended look, then stated:

"Look, we're in a bad situation, and I guess it can't get worse, but—"

"Guess again Roxane," Resa moaned, then pointed to the sky.

Fearing what they might see, but too curious to refrain from looking, the rest looked at the sky. In the distance, they were able to see a large, flaming red sphere coming towards them, and gaining speed by the second.

"What should we do?" Roxane asked worriedly.

"I bet it was sent by Capricorn or Calamita," Mo said.

"Well, whichever one sent it, I don't think they made a greeting message!" Dustfinger said.

"What should we do?" Resa asked.

As soon as she had asked, Roxane looked around, as if in search of something in the water that surrounded them on all sides. After a moment or two, her eyes hooked on a piece of seaweed sticking just above the water, triggering a distant memory, and giving her the perfect idea.

"This is great! Everyone, jump overboard, we're getting out of here!" Roxane exclaimed, diving into the water.

When she saw that no one had any intention of getting in, she said,

"Got any better ideas?"

Resa sighed, and reluctantly jumped in with Mo and Dustfinger in tow. Roxane beckoned them to follow, and dove underwater. Once underneath the surface, they noticed why Roxane had gone into the water. On the ocean floor, there was a pond within the ocean, the water in the pond looking separated from the rest of the ocean water. Added to that, it was an exact replica of the pond of the water nymph they had jumped into to get to Silver Secret.

With more confidence, they followed Roxane deeper into the ocean, and once they had reached the pond, they heard a swishing of air— signaling the arrival of the red sphere. With more urgency, they swam to the edge of the pond, and though it was a little more difficult, they all said one by one in bubbles, "I seek the land of Silver Secret".

Being the last one, once he was in, Dustfinger heard a loud swish and crash, obviously coming from the red sphere. With a smile, he thought, _The red sphere is now destroyed, and we escaped it simply!_ Then, to his great relief, he felt himself free-falling through air, and landing on solid ground.

With a bigger smile, he shared the news with the others.

"You know, I thought this would be a little more exciting," Meggie said with a bored sigh.

"Me too," Farid replied.

They were still flying through the air, the flame they were covered in still going full speed. They were a little sad about how Dustfinger's plan hadn't really worked, and their excitement and worries of flying through the air covered in flames had long since gone. The ride was actually becoming quite an annoyance.

"Where do you think we're going to land?" Meggie asked.

"I dunno, but my legs are starting to ache from standing. I'm going to sit," Farid replied.

"But what would happen if the flames let you go once you sat?"

"Well, first things first, that's a trick question. It would be a relief to get off this ride, but it wouldn't be a relief to leave you here, and whichever version of events I choose, my legs are still going to ache, so I'll risk sitting down," Farid responded.

Meggie smiled at Farid, and watched with a beating heart as he sat down in the flames. To his and her relief, the flames kept him in, giving a solid ground to sit on. Seeing as it was safe, Meggie sat at his side with a relieved sigh.

"What are we going to do when we land, Farid?"

"I don't know, Meggie. But it looks like we still have a while to go," Farid replied, looking down toward the blue mass that was beneath them.

Meggie sighed again, and rested her head on Farid's shoulder, feeling safe in his strong embrace. When he kissed her forehead, she felt warm inside— warmer than she thought was safe being inside flames.

Smiling, she said:

"I can't remember the last time we've had alone time."

"Yes, but now that we do, we shouldn't let it go to waste," Farid smirked, then kissed Meggie again.

As if given its cue, the moment Farid's lips touched Meggie, the flames let them go, sending them free falling through the air, giving them another moment of panic.

Then, sooner than they had anticipated, they landed on a wooden ground, winded.

Added to that, the wood gave off a strange odor that filled their noses, then, eventually, filled their heads with a strange buzzing noise.

After sharing a confused glance, both Meggie and Farid fell into a deep sleep, the sound of their snores drifting on the wind.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well what's supposed to happen now?"

"We'll find out soon..."

"Well what do you mean by 'we'll find out soon'?"

"Well... I don't know, ok?"

Capricorn, Calamita, Mortola, and their crew were still waiting for some sign showing whether or not Calamita's spell had worked. It had been a few hours already, and to make matters worse, the sun was setting, and no one had any idea as to what type of... _things_... came out looking for certain _prey_ at night. Along with that, everyone's temper and impatience was returning since there were no results.

Then, to their surprise, Calamita gasped:

"There it is! There it is! I told you that it would work! Look over there! My creation is returning! IN YOUR FACE! I _told_ you it would work! HAHA!"

As they looked in the direction that Calamita was pointing, they noticed that she wasn't just hallucinating, she was telling the truth: a very small red globe was headed towards them.

When the miniature red globe was within Calamita's arm length, it waited patiently for her to reach her arms out for it. Once her hands were safely underneath it, it dropped into them, and became lifeless.

After an inquiring look from Calamita, it became full of life again, looking like a computer being turned on. Then, with a robotic voice, it stated simply:

"I was unsuccessful in destroying the enemy."

"You were _what?"_ Calamita asked in both an angry and nervous tone.

"I repeat: I was unsuccessful in destroying the enemy."

"I thought you said this... _thing_... would work!" Mortola exclaimed.

"It should have! And it shouldn't have returned this way unless those bookworms were dead!" Calamita said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Much to everyone's annoyance, Calamita started crying like a baby who's toy had been taken away.

"There, there Calamita. It's not like we won't get them sooner or later!" Capricorn said in a harsh tone, showing no sign of affection.

Calamita kept blubbering.

"Calamita..."

More tears...

"Calamita!"

Still more tears...

"Calamita if you don't stop that annoying blubbering this instant, _you'll _be the one who'll have to look out for flying globes!" Capricorn threatened.

Reluctantly, she stopped most of her tears, then sniffled:

"I know where they are..."

"What! Then what was all the spilled tears about?" Mortola exclaimed.

"I've never messed up a spell before..."

"Well, that doesn't matter! Where are the bookworms?" Capricorn questioned.

"Silver Secret..." Calamita sniffled.

"Excellent! Now whip something up so that we could get there quickly, before they leave!" Capricorn ordered.

"Fine! Just ignore my sadness, and put me to work!" Calamita replied with an offended tone, then started another spell.

With Calamita to work, Capricorn said with an evil grin:

"We're back on their trail!"

(Ball tells them it is unsuccessful, Calamita cries like the baby she is

go to Meggie and Farid, hot air balloon they are in hears them talk about how safe they are from Capricorn, misunderstands them and bring them to Capricorn, Capricorn captures them.

Balloon is merchant's balloon which used to be the boat (when Calamita's red globe hit it, it gave it flames to turn into a hot air balloon and fly) merchant knows what happened to Meggie and Farid, the adults try to save meggie and Farid)


End file.
